Archive for the ‘Celebrations’ Category

Creative Father’s Day Gifts Your Dad is Sure to Love

Friday, June 8th, 2012

t’s no secret that I love my dad like crazy!  Last year we got the opportunity to celebrate him at a dinner in honor of his 35 years of employment with Bayer. This picture of my sister & me with him is one of my favorites from that evening together.  Sadly, for us, our brother has moved to New Orleans so one piece of our puzzle was missing in this picture. He actually has three kids that are so proud of him and adore him!

I had a blast sharing with you my gift ideas for Mother’s Day, over on the Kenmore Genius blog,  and I can’t wait to showcase some of my favorite Father’s Day gifts that I have given my dad over the years. I hope you will find these ideas inspiring for this gift-giving season.

Head on over to my article on, “Creative Gifts Your Dad is Sure to Love,” to learn about my favorite gifts that I have given my dad(s) over the years!

Don’t forget that this year I also have an awesome DIY Chalkboard Conversation Bubble Cookie Jar that you can make and fill with your dad’s favorite cookies. I highly recommend these Oatmeal Chocolate Chip & Sea Salt Cookies for the perfect sweet and salty combination!

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Father’s Day Craft: DIY Chalkboard Conversation Bubble Cookie Jars

Tuesday, May 22nd, 2012

 DIY Chalkboard Conversation Bubble Cookie Jars

I am so excited to share with you a fun craft today that you can do to spoil the dads in your life this year for Father’s Day. Today I am showcasing this EASY DIY Chalkboard Conversation Bubble Cookie Jar that you can create using some inexpensive supplies and fill with your dad’s favorite treat.

Before I get started, I want you to know that crafting is not easy for me. I really do think I was born lacking a natural crafting gene. I actually did this craft twice and failed at it the first time. I made a huge craftastrophe in my kitchen, dripped paint all over the place, and was about to give up. This craft took me THREE trips to the store and an entire day to execute. Once I figured out the best way to do it though, I felt like a craft rock star and tackled this project in less than an hour with amazing results. I just think it is nice to hear the behind-the-scenes stuff once in awhile. I have complete confidence that with this tutorial you are going to get to enjoy all of the rock star status without the drippy paint all over your kitchen.

 DIY Chalkboard Conversation Bubble Cookie Jars DIY Chalkboard Conversation Bubble Cookie JarsLet’s get started with our picture of supplies and the (approximate) cost of the materials for you to recreate this craft.

For this craft you will need (all found at Walmart):

1 Gallon Cookie Jar (over by the jars in the kitchen section)- $7.44

Krylon Chalkboard Spray Paint (in the home improvement section)- $3.97

Avery Removable Wall & Window Signage Sheets (over by the office supplies)- $9.97 for 5 sheets

16 count chalk (in office supplies)- $.47

Scissors (in your craft supplies)

1 sheet of heavy cardstock (in your craft supplies)

 

 DIY Chalkboard Conversation Bubble Cookie Jars

 DIY Chalkboard Conversation Bubble Cookie Jars

First, pull out your Avery Sheets. These are probably among the most awesome find EVER for creating labels and signs. My brain is buzzing with the possibilities for these. Focus, Amy, focus…

For this craft, we are going to use the Wall Application Side for spraying with chalkboard spray paint. This is the side that has the sticky side that is removable and adjustable… perfect for people who can never get anything on their projects perfectly straight.

In a well-ventilated area covered with newspaper or cardboard, place your Avery sheet. Shake the can vigorously for two minutes. Hold can 10-14 inches away from your project and begin spraying. Spray a thin coat in a sweeping motion beginning off the surface and continuing off the other side. Follow this pattern horizontally and then vertically. Wait fifteen minutes or so and then apply another coat.  They should be dry and ready to cut in about an hour.

 DIY Chalkboard Conversation Bubble Cookie JarsPrint out my FREE Chalkboard Conversation Bubble template on some heavy-duty cardstock. Use this template to cut out your chalkboard conversation bubbles. You should be able to get two labels from each sheet with this size label.

 DIY Chalkboard Conversation Bubble Cookie JarsWrite your chalk message on the conversation bubble and then adhere the message to your cookie jar. These Avery sheets are sticky, but do not leave a residue or tear. They are heavy-duty so if Dad wants to peel it off and give the jar a good wash, he can and then place the label back on.

I filled my jars with Oatmeal Chocolate Chip & Sea Salt Cookies for each of my dads. I can’t wait to give these them and I especially love that this craft cost about $10 in supplies for each one. Not too shabby!

Grab your free conversation bubble template HERE

I am a part of the Walmart Moms program, and Walmart has provided me with compensation for these posts. My participation is voluntary and opinions are always my own.

 

Looking for more Father’s Day gift ideas? Be sure to check out my Power Pack for Your Superhero Dad and my idea for an Easy Movie Gift Basket for a special dad in your life!

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Great Gifts to Give Teachers From Goodwill

Friday, May 18th, 2012

The end of the school year is upon us and if you missed showering your teacher with gifts for Teacher Appreciation Week, I have some fun gift options for a final thank you for all the hard work your teacher has put in this year.

You may not think of Goodwill as a spot for accessorizing your teacher gifts, but I am showing you how to dress up thrift store items to create beautiful gifts for your teachers.

What is one gift you love to create with thrifty supplies for your teachers?

We would love to hear your ideas!

 

Frame a Fun Printable

Frame a fun free printable for your teacher.

I love to hunt for these inexpensive frames and then give them a fresh new look with a coat of spray paint.

I made these, “Raise Your Hand if You Mustache a Question,” printables for our teachers for the holidays and they loved them with spray painted red frames.

They coordinate perfectly with a white mug adorned with a painted mustache.

 

I also really love this fabulous printable and clipboard from eighteen25 that reminds the class to listen to their teachers.

What teacher would not love that?

Create a Pretty Pin

This year I have become obsessed with making cute pins and have found a way to incorporate these pins on everything from bags to belts to jewelry.

Teachers will love these fun accessories and it is an easy way to say thank you without spending a lot.

Pins can be created from recycled t-shirts

or you can create elegant roses from a felted sweater

or use fabric from a cute shirt you can snag on their sale rack.

 

Bake a Treat

One gift that I think says I truly appreciate you is spending time in the kitchen baking something special for someone you love.

Find cute tins, plates, or even give them right in the baking pans.

The best part about packaging these delicious treats with thrifty packaging is that you don’t have to worry about getting your dishes returned back to you.

I highly recommend these Dark Chocolate & Sea Salt Brownies for a treat that will knock your teacher’s socks off!

Just be prepared to have to share the recipe once they have tried them.

 

 

Give a Gift of Pampering

If there is one thing that you can find at Goodwill, it is a plethora of mason jars that can be used for all of your craft projects.

Consider giving your teacher a gift to pamper herself and packaging it in a mason jar and attach a spoon.

Mix up some easy bath salts or a hand scrub that she can use to treat herself.

 

Teacher School Supplies Cake :: MomAdvice.com

 

 

Give Them Something They Can Use

This year I decided to give our teachers a fun teacher supplies cake that I made with school materials I knew they might be missing in their classrooms.

Check the office supplies at your local thrift to see if you can find items you can weave into a school supplies cake for your teacher.

You will often find great folders, binders, and new office supplies that could easily create tiers for a cute school supplies cake to replenish their supplies for next year.

Simply configure your supplies and stack them on top of each other, securing with a little packing tape to hold everything together.

Half of the fun in this craft is in the creating of your cake.

Adorn it with a little ribbon and a picture of your child with a thoughtful message of thanks.

 

What is one gift you love to create with Goodwill supplies for your teachers?

We would love to hear your ideas!

This post contains affiliate links

 

Don’t miss these other great ideas from MomAdvice.com:

 

Teacher Gift Ideas

 

Oreo Biscotti Gifts

 

Mojito Bath Salts

 

Quick & Easy DIY Mother's Day gift ideas

Quick & Easy Mother’s Day Gift Ideas

 

3 Ways to Take the Hassle our of School Lunches

3 Ways to Take the Hassle Out of Packing School Lunch

 

 

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Creative Mother’s Day Gifts on a Budget

Tuesday, May 8th, 2012

Mother’s Day is just around the corner and it’s time to honor our moms! Each year we try to do something special for my mom and mother-in-law. I have found that often the simplest of gifts are the most treasured, especially if they are hand delivered by my children.

Today I am over at the Kenmore blog sharing a few of my favorite Mother’s Day gifts that are not only creative gifts to create, but they are also very easy on the wallet. Head on over there to get the scoop on my top gifts to give.

Enough about the giving though, let’s talk about the receiving. After all, it is your day too! What is your dream Mother’s Day gift this year?

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Ham & Vegetable Breakfast Strata

Monday, April 9th, 2012

Throwing brunches is one of my favorite entertaining tricks for staying ahead on food preparation and staying under budget. A breakfast strata happens to be one of my favorite brunch dishes to prepare because all of the work can be done ahead of time, allowing me the chance to really be in the moment and visit with our guests.

Breakfast strata is nice and frugal because you can use what is in season and on sale to create this elegant dish. Better yet, you can use the leftover Easter ham and leftover vegetables in a fun and creative way. Even the bread can be stale or leftover from your Easter feasting. If you don’t have any bread to dig into, don’t forget my super awesome resource for day old bread. Between that and your Easter leftovers, you have the makings of a meal for mere pennies.

This strata is unlike my usual meat and cheese strata because it is filled with delicious fresh vegetables. I used zuchinni, mushrooms, and green peppers in mine, but you can mix up whatever variety of vegetables you love or have on hand. Leave the meat out to keep it vegetarian or add your favorite meat to add another dimension of flavor.

The creaminess in this comes from a tiny bit of half-and-half and a whole lot of cream cheese.

In my grandmother’s words, “Cream cheese just makes everything better.”

We couldn’t agree more.

Breakfast Strata
Recipe Type: Main
Author: Adapted from AllRecipes.com
Prep time: 45 mins
Cook time: 35 mins
Total time: 1 hour 20 mins
Serves: 16
A breakfast strata that you can assemble the night before. This is a winner for any brunch or when entertaining. This makes two. Cut your recipe in half for just one strata.
Ingredients
  • 3 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
  • 3 cups chopped zucchini
  • 2 cups cubed fully cooked ham
  • 1 1/2 cups chopped green pepper
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
  • 1/2 cup half-and-half cream
  • 12 eggs
  • 4 cups cubed day-old bread
  • 3 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
  1. In a large skillet, saute the mushrooms, zucchini, ham, green peppers and garlic in oil until vegetables are tender. Drain and pat dry; set aside.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese and cream until smooth.
  3. Beat in eggs.
  4. Stir in the bread, cheese, salt, pepper and vegetable mixture.
  5. Pour into two greased 11-in. x 7-in. x 2-in. baking dishes.
  6. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F for 35-40 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.
  7. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.


We wanted to share with you a few of our favorite pictures from our Easter celebration. We hope you all had a wonderful Easter with your families!

What is your favorite way to use up those Easter dinner leftovers?

 

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Celebrating Earth Day as a Family

Thursday, April 5th, 2012

Looking for some fun ways to celebrate Earth Day with your family? This week I am over at the Kenmore Genius Blog to share some ways that our family has found to celebrate Earth Day and make it special for our kids. We hope you can join us and find a new way to celebrate with your family with these fun tips!

If you are in the Spring Cleaning mood, you will also find my article on Spring Cleaning Your Refrigerator.  Your refrigerator might be one of those appliances that may get overlooked, but it is one of the most important appliances in a home. Simple maintenance and cleaning procedures though can greatly extend the life & efficiency of your refrigerator and today I wanted to show how to keep your refrigerator running efficiently for your family with a few of these easy spring cleaning tips!

Today I wanted to share with you some tips for spring cleaning your refrigerator and keeping it running smoothly for your family.

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Tips for Hosting a Great Easter Celebration

Tuesday, April 3rd, 2012

Looking for some tips and ideas for hosting your Easter celebration this year? Today I am sharing my tips & ideas for hosting the best Easter celebration over at the Snackpicks site.

Head on over to find out some ideas for setting your table, choosing a great color scheme, and get recipes idea for elegant and effortless dishes to serve for your Easter gathering. I hope you will find some great ideas and inspiration for the Easter season!

Looking for other fun Easter projects on MomAdvice? Here are six recommendations for a fun Easter season.

1. Marbleized Easter Eggs

2. Homemade Bunny Bread (in the Bread Machine)

3. Deviled Eggs (to be created from your dyed eggs)

4. DIY Fabric Flower Barrettes (for Easter accessories)

5. Budget-Minded Easter Celebrations

6. Kool-Aid Easter Egg Dying

 

Don’t forget, I also have a fun Rolled Ribbon Rosette Hair Bow that would make the perfect Easter accessory for a little girl in your life. Be sure to head over to that tutorial and find out how to make this craft that requires no craft skills at all.

Happy Easter, everyone!

 

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Rolled Ribbon Rosette Hair Accessory Tutorial

Saturday, March 24th, 2012

I love to make hair accessories for my little girl and my little girl loves to wear them. It was a joke, in fact, that when my daughter was born, she was born with a bow on her little head. This little girl never pulled a bow out of her hair and would even sleep in them. I really believe she just thought it was a part of her little head since I put one on the day she was born and never took it off.

Luckily for me, she remains to be my little girly-girl to this day. She still is my little fashionista and always fully accessorized.

Now that she is growing up, I am always looking for big girl ways to accessorize her outfits and this Rolled Ribbon Rosette Hair Bow is the perfect accessory to any Easter outfit. Rolled Ribbon Rosettes are so unbelievably easy to make and require ZERO craft skills to create. No one will believe that you made these yourself, but only you will know just how easy these are to create.

All of the supplies for this project are available at your local Walmart. For this craft you will need your hot glue gun, glue sticks, plain metal barrettes (located by the ribbon section of the craft section of your store), a piece of felt, and one package of Offray Large Trend Flower Ribbon (in your chosen color).

To start your Rolled Ribbon Rosette Hair Bow, you will want to start with one of the roses on the ribbon to create the center of your pretty flower.

Now all you need to do is start twisting your ribbon in between each of the little roses, add a dab of hot glue, and then twist again, glue again, and repeat. If you twist the ribbon tightly, you will have a tighter and flatter flower. If you twist a little looser, you will get more of the petal effect with the frayed edges working their way out more on the ribbon. Either way, it will be beautiful.

Keep twisting until you reach the size of the flower you are looking for. I used almost the entire bolt of ribbon, but you can make your flower smaller, based on your own preferences.

Cut a circle out of felt. You can use a drinking glass to trace your circle on the felt or just freehand it. This felt circle will hold all of that ribbon secure and together underneath your Rolled Ribbon Rosette Hair Bow. Hot glue your felt circle to the back of your flower. Hold this for a couple of seconds to secure it.

Once you have secured your felt circle, you can begin attaching your barrette. Add hot glue to your barrette (left opened, so you don’t glue it together) and secure it to your felt circle. Allow the glue to dry and then close your barrette.

I love this big girl flower for my big girl. She couldn’t wait to try it on and has already been begging to wear this one to school because she loves it so much. Who would ever know that it so simple to create? I will never tell!

Walmart offers beautiful dresses for the Easter season. I found this fluffy pink & white tulle dress for her for $16.47. The cropped ruffled cardigan was only $7.47. For less than $30, she will be accessorized from head to toe in her Easter finery this year. Once we are done wearing this dress for Easter, it will make a fun dress-up dress for those days when a girl just wants to feel fancy.

In our house fanciness happens every day. We should get a lot of wear out of this one.

Looking for other fun Easter projects on MomAdvice? Here are six recommendations for a fun Easter season.

1. Marbleized Easter Eggs

2. Homemade Bunny Bread (in the Bread Machine)

3. Deviled Eggs (to be created from your dyed eggs)

4. DIY Fabric Flower Barrettes (for Easter accessories)

5. Budget-Minded Easter Celebrations

6. Kool-Aid Easter Egg Dying

What is your favorite Easter tradition in your house?  Do you have any ways that you save on your Easter outfits and accessories? I would love to hear your ideas!

I am a part of the Walmart Moms program, and Walmart has provided me with compensation for these posts. My participation is voluntary and opinions are always my own.

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Baked Snickerdoodle Doughnuts

Monday, March 19th, 2012

Baked donuts have become our family’s new way of celebrating all of the special occasions in our life and I couldn’t wait to share with you my snickerdoodle donut creation I made this week. These baked snickerdoodle donuts are a fun & frugal family treat that are easy to create with a simple nonstick donut pan ( we have two of these Norpro 6-count Nonstick Donut Pans) and pantry ingredients.

My husband celebrated his birthday this past weekend and I wanted to create something special for his birthday morning. Every year I try to find a snickerdoodle treat for him since it is his favorite cookie in the whole world. We have enjoyed everything from the cookies to snickerdoodle cupcakes to snickerdoodle biscotti in our house. It seems no matter what version of snickerdoodles we are creating, we love them no matter what. Who could resist that cinnamon flavor?

I will admit the first batch of these was a giant fail, although they photographed beautifully. I played with different leavening agents that yielded gummy and heavy donuts.  I ended up baking a second round later in the week using cake flour and it helped to yield a much lighter donut and more the consistency I was after. It is proof that sometimes it takes a couple of tries before you get it right when baking.

Each donut was dipped in butter and then dipped in a bowl filled with sugar and cinnamon. The coating adds that crunch and more cinnamon flavor that remind me so much of our favorite snickerdoodle cookie. We all agreed, that these donuts were heavenly and there was not a single one left once I perfected the batch.

Baked Snickerdoodle Donuts
Recipe Type: Dessert
Author: Amy Allen Clark
Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 8 mins
Total time: 18 mins
Serves: 12
These baked cake donuts are full of cinnamon flavor with a crunchy cinnamon & sugar topping that you are sure to love!
Ingredients
  • 2 cups cake flour (or 1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour + 1/4 cup cornstarch)
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 3/4 cup milk
  • 2 eggs, lightly beaten
  • 2 Tbsp butter
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • Cinnamon & Sugar Topping: 1/4 cup of butter, melted
  • 1/3 cup of sugar
  • 1 tsp cinnamon powder
Instructions
  1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
  2. Whisk together the cake flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder and salt into a large bowl.
  3. Pour in the milk, eggs, butter and vanilla extract.
  4. Gently mix the ingredients together. Be careful not to over-mix the batter.
  5. Lightly grease a doughnut pan with non-stick cooking spray.
  6. Carefully spoon the batter into the doughnut pan, filling each one halfway (you should get twelve donuts total)
  7. Bake the doughnuts at 400 F for eight minutes. The donuts will remain light in color, but should spring back when pressed.
  8. Allow to cool for five minutes.
  9. Unmold each donut gently and lightly brush each with the 4 tablespoons of melted butter.
  10. Dunk in a bowl with the sugar and cinnamon mixed in.
  11. Shake off excess sugar and serve immediately.

 

Emily & Ethan presented their Dad with these fabulous donuts for his birthday treat. We all sang to him and Emily presented just one more gift for her dad…

Her front tooth.

It is too adorable for words.

Looking for really great baked donut recipes? I have you covered!

1. Baked Apple Pie Donuts

2. Baked Blueberry Donuts with a Lemon Glaze

3. Fluffy Cake Donuts with a Simple Glaze

4. Fluffy Baked Chocolate Donuts

5. Baked Pumpkin Donuts with Maple Syrup Frosting

6. Baked Glazed Gingerbread Donuts

What are your favorite ways to celebrate birthdays in your family? We would love to hear your family’s traditions for celebrating!

 

Submitted to Mouthwatering Mondays at A Southern Fairytale.

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St. Patrick’s Day Straw Tags (Free Printable)

Wednesday, March 14th, 2012

St. Patrick’s Day is almost here! Today I wanted to share with you an easy craft that you can do for your kids for a fun St. Patrick’s Day snack. Nothing could be cuter and more festive than these adorable St. Patrick’s Day straw tags that you can add to a twisty straw for the holiday.

This month I have the honor of being the moderator for the new Walmart Crafts Facebook Group. In this group, you can share pictures of the crafts you are working on, ask questions about crafts you might be tackling, and gain inspiration from the other members.  Anyone can join in on the fun and I would love to chat with you over there! Just imagine surrounding yourself with people who are just enthusiastic as you about crafting!

For this week’s project I am sharing with you a way to dress up a St. Patrick’s Day snack for your kids. If you aren’t feeling ambitious enough to tackle my Rainbow Cakes in a Jar, this craft is just as fun and something you can whip up very quickly.

Supplies Needed (Available at Walmart)

Sticko Leprechaun Riches Stickers
Sticko Large Shamrocks
Cardstock (white or green)
Hole Punch
Ribbon (any color)
Twisty Straws

Directions

1. Print out our free St. Patrick’s Day printable (link provided below) on heavy duty cardstock.

2. Cut out your straw tags.

3. Adorn your straw tags with cute shamrocks and/or leprechaun stickers.

4. Slide your gift tag on your straw and tie a little ribbon on top.

5. Place in a glass of milk tinted with green food coloring and serve these up with a big plate of festive cookies.

Grab your FREE St Patrick’s Day Printables here!

 

I am a part of the Walmart Moms program, and Walmart has provided me with compensation for these posts. My participation is voluntary and opinions are always my own.

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